Goa minister hails TRS win,says it's boost to regional parties

A day after the BJP's poll debacle in three Hindi heartland states, GFP, an ally of the BJP-led coalition government, Wednesday underlined "supremacy" of regional parties by citing victory of TRS in Telangana.

GFP leader and Agriculture Minister Vijai Sardesai also proposed that Goans adopt the "Telangana model of regional politics".

K Chandrasekhar Rao-led Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) swept the assembly polls by winning 88 out of 119 seats, results for which were announced Tuesday.

While the Congress won 19 seats in the southern state, the BJP could bag just one seat.

"The TRS' performance is a victory of regionalism. It is a landslide victory for a regional political outfit. I feel that Goans should also look at the Telangana model where it is completely about regional sentiments", he told reporters here.

The GFP had won three out of four seats it had contested in 2017 Assembly elections. All three MLAs are serving as ministers in the Manohar Parrikar cabinet.

Sardesai said the TRS has given a "much needed boost" to the regional parties across the country.

Responding to electoral results in five states, the minister said they serve as a "wake up call" for the Narendra Modi government and called for a "course correction".

Elections were held in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram over November and December.

"The Congress has made a comeback and to some extent there is a need for a course correction if it is felt that aspirations of the voters are not being met through government policies", he said.

Sardesai said, "the BJP will have to prepare itself well for the finals (2019 LS polls)".